Seek truth from facts
chengyu
"Seek truth from facts" is a historically established idiomatic expression (chengyu) in the Chinese language that first appeared in the Book of Han. Originally, it described an attitude toward study and research. Popularized by Chinese leader Mao Zedong, it has become a major slogan of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the inspiration for its principal theoretical journal, Qiushi.
Use in a political context
The slogan became a key slogan in Chinese Marxism and was first used by Mao Zedong in 1936. Mao had probably remembered it as being the inscription on his alma mater, Hunan's First Teachers Training School. Mao's usage of the slogan built on his themes in On Practice, which argues that people must apply their knowledge to practice in reality in order to test its truthfulness.
Beginning in 1978, it was further promoted by Deng Xiaoping as a central ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and applied to economic and political reforms thereafter. In Deng described the principle of seeking truth from facts as the core of Mao Zedong Thought.
In contemporary Chinese politics
To "seek truth from facts" means that communists should test theory against reality rather than adhere dogmatically to theory. The slogan implies respect for facts and using facts to inform theory and policy.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Seek truth from facts” is chengyu. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Seek, truth and facts, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “chengyu” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q847856. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1936 and 1978.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Seek truth from facts” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.